


Excuses

by tocasia



Series: Our Shining Past [26]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: AU, Chocobos, Coincidences, Cupcakes, Cute, Gen, Sephiroth and Zack friendship, Silly, good for morale, unfair late night shopping runs, why not?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2019-01-06 06:17:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12205536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tocasia/pseuds/tocasia
Summary: It wasn't because Dark Nation was cute.  No.(15. excuses) for Seph&Zack Friendship 100 Themes





	Excuses

The pale blue one was ahead when the camera panned up the wide wooden bridge to show the sailboat-speckled ocean in the background.

"They must dye their feathers for the races," Sephiroth said.

Zack corrected him. "No, there's an entire hobby centered on fancy chocobos now. They've bred all kinds of colors, not just the tactically useful all-terrain ones."

"Huh." He went back to frosting the cupcakes with Masamune, because the cupcakes were on Zack's kitchen table and Zack's tv was in the other room.

It was lemon frosting.  
No, it was chocolate.  
Or was it cream cheese?  
It definitely was not strawberry.  
...probably.

The purple chocobo won. Damn! Zack cheered.

Oh, it was vanilla frosting. Which was an excuse for sprinkles. He refrained from the evil laughter Zack undoubtedly expected.

And then he walked into the kitchen to lick the frosting off Masamune's tip in peace. No use making a scene.

* * *

Sephiroth unlocked the door to his own apartment and opened it. A comforting blast of cold air greeted him; no one had better air conditioning than he did. He kept the rooms dark. If anyone ever inquired, he planned to brag about how much energy it saved not having the lights on. Never mind the contradiction.

 _Something_ leapt out at him and bowled him over and licked him with a warm scratchy tongue.

Sephiroth was mortified. Zack hadn't said anything! Was there still frosting on his face? Well... not anymore. Count the small blessings.

What was Dark Nation doing in his apartment?

It wasn't dignified to stay here in the hallway prone. And he would put the sword away, too. Dark Nation was unlikely to be complicit in Rufus's prank.

Sephiroth shoved the friendly guard hound off him and stood up. His coat was covered in floury paw prints and so was the carpet. The light switch failed to ameliorate the situation.

Dark Nation followed him inside, obviously proud of itself and not at all intimidated by his pointed looks of displeasure.

What was he going to _do_ about this?

A drink of water would be nice.

It was a universally acknowledged fact that Shinra's tap water was unpotable without ice cubes. He tiptoed to the fridge to avoid breaking what had survived. His kitchen was a _disaster_.

There was a Barrier blocking the freezer.

Sephiroth sighed instead of... nope, better not to contemplate any of that... and checked his armlet. He wasn't carrying a Destruct materia today; he'd have to retrieve it from his room if he wanted to dispel this. Which meant opening that door. Which meant Dark Nation could get in. No. Absolutely not.

Dark Nation thrashed its tentacle... endearingly? Sephiroth caught a porcelain bowl that it knocked off the countertop.

He decided he wasn't going to kill it. Dark Nation was quite competent in the art of destroying things, a useful talent, just so long as they weren't his things. Maybe... he could make a friend. Zack would like that. Rufus might be jealous. Yes, use the enemy's own resources against them. Perfect. But... Rufus probably believed he'd sent Dark Nation to its death. There was something ...awful about that.

He almost clenched a fist. He'd prove the vice president wrong, again. 

Dark Nation was supposed to listen only to Rufus. Heh.

"Sit."

"Stay."

Those worked.

And then, for the hell of it, "Travel back in time and do not destroy my apartment."

That was apparently unsuccessful.

He didn't have anything to feed the animal, especially since the fridge was so masterfully barricaded. However, he knew another way.... 

"Aww man, Seph, it's the middle of the night!"

"Make it happen, SOLDIER."

"...Yes sir. Do I get the story later?"

The damage was extensive. It would be difficult to hide. "Fine."

Now what? Oh. He should set up a spot for Dark Nation to sleep. Towels first, then blankets for warmth, and a pillow....

By the time he'd straightened the kitchen and made a serviceable guard hound bed, Dark Nation had chewed on more of his belongings. He'd allow it in this case. Good dog. Disposing of evidence. Sephiroth wasn't sure his public image could handle slippers.

* * *

In the morning, Dark Nation was asleep... on the black leather couch that was now crisscrossed with jagged rips where its claws had torn the material.

Sephiroth found new appreciation for what the Turks must go through on a daily basis.

Maybe he'd take Dark Nation outside to give it some exercise and some play and show Rufus that he'd made a mistake.

Hmm. That might lay the foundation for a new SOLDIER division. The troops copied everything he did, and Reeve frequently lamented the feral guard hound problem in the slums that no one could afford to deal with properly. An untapped resource. Practical. The recruits would learn leadership and restraint taming the beasts. The animals could track by scent, and fight, and raise Barriers... good support for the unenhanced. And they weren't so threatening that they couldn't be used in civilian settings....

* * *

General Sephiroth was running laps on the training field. He carefully kept to a pace that wouldn't hurt Dark Nation, and soon had an audience of cadets.

"Isn't that the vice president's pet?"

"Is the General dog sitting it?"

"That's... unusual."

"Maybe it's one of his random missions? They say he gets bored and does that."

"...it's cute."

"I want one."

"Too bad no pets are allowed in the barracks."

They thought about it for a while.

"I dare you to ask him if you can have one."

"..."

"Wait, you're thinking of actually doing it?"

"He does seem more approachable right now. He's smiling and nobody has died."

"I'm going for it!"

They imitated the General's typical pre-mission speech, "If you should perish..."

" ...we'll perform the proper rites..."

"...and inform your family of your bravery."

Then they noticed their buddy's downcast face. Oh. That wasn't uncommon. "Don't worry. We're your family."

"...thanks."

They watched him stride confidently to where the General was jogging and get the General's attention with a salute. And then he and the General were _talking_. After a tense moment, they remembered with relief that the rules were different because the war was over. It wouldn't be like the stories. Their friend should be safe. He was dismissed and walked back towards them looking pleased.

They clapped for him in unanimous respect for his courage.

He grinned. "New orders, guys!"

* * *

"Are you going to get one of your own?" Zack asked.

Sephiroth sighed. "No. I have too much to care for already."

"That's true. You're very busy."

Zack wondered how many of Seph's random missions would become 'train the new K9 units'. It would, of course, be a coincidence. 


End file.
